The present invention relates generally to facilities, and in particular to a user assistance system for an interactive facility.
Facilities comprise a broad class of structures adapted for use by inhabitants, visitors, customers, tenants and other individuals with access to them. Parking facilities, warehouses, stadiums, arenas, venues, office buildings, institutional buildings and hotels comprise common examples. Parking garages, particularly in urban areas, often have large numbers of parking spaces distributed among multiple floors. Using such massive facilities tends to be inefficient, because motorists must initially find available parking spaces, and later must locate their vehicles. Many of the customers of such parking facilities are unfamiliar with them and hence can become disoriented.
Lighting fixtures are commonly installed in parking structures for safety and security purposes. Since parking garages are often used during the hours of darkness, artificial illumination is desirable to reduce collision risks, enhance safety, etc. Moreover, parking garages are sometimes regarded as risky from the standpoint of personal attack. Such risks can be enhanced by the vulnerability of motorists as they enter and leave their vehicles and are thus preoccupied with retrieving vehicle keys, locking and unlocking vehicle doors, loading or unloading items in the vehicle, etc. Such activities tend to preoccupy motorists, and assailants have been known to time their attacks for such moments of vulnerability.
Another security problem with parking structures is that vehicles parked therein afford numerous hiding places for would-be assailants. Other hazards associated with parking structures include collision risks associated with vehicles entering and leaving parking spaces. For example, when a vehicle backs out of a parking space, its driver""s rearward vision is often limited, thus increasing the chances of a collision with a vehicle in the drive aisle. Another common problem encountered by motorists in parking structures relates to locating available spaces. Considerable amounts of unnecessary driving often occur as motorists traverse the drive aisles in large parking structures seeking empty parking spaces.
A partial solution to safety and security issues associated with parking structures is to provide illumination by mounting light fixtures therein. However, the normal design standards for parking structure illumination require only relatively low illumination levels, e.g., about 0.5 foot candles per square foot.
Light fixtures have previously been used for security purposes by coupling them with motion detection switching systems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,323; No. 5,434,764 and No. 5,442,532 disclose lighting fixtures with motion or proximity detectors. Such lighting fixtures can be used in areas in which illumination is desired when personnel are present. They tend to discourage intruders and would-be assailants by depriving them of the cover of darkness.
Motion sensing electronics are well known in the art. For example, the Ravas U.S. Pat. No. 3,459,961 discloses a movement responsive light control means. The Ravas ""961 patent motion sensor utilizes a doppler shift in a transmitted signal frequency to detect movement and thus trigger a firing circuit, which in turn switches a load (e.g., a light) to an on condition. Other sensor systems currently available utilize sonar and infrared technology to detect objects and object movement.
Heretofore there has not been available a detection system for a light fixture with the safety and security advantages of the present invention. The present invention addresses some or all of the foregoing safety and security issues as they relate to interactive facilities in general, and as they relate to user assistance systems therefor in particular.
In the practice of the present invention, a detection system is provided for an interactive facility, such as a parking structure including a parking space, a drive aisle and a ceiling. The detection system includes a sensor subsystem with vehicle and personnel sensors; an indicator/display subsystem with empty space, moving vehicle and personnel indicators; and a control subsystem. The detection system can be associated with light fixtures or other components mounted in the structure, or it can be installed as a stand-alone component. The control subsystem includes memory, switching and logic units for receiving and storing data corresponding to predetermined situations and switching the indicators in response to signal inputs from the sensors. The control subsystem can store GPS coordinates of particular parking facility features and can interface with a vehicle equipped with a GPS navigation system to assist the driver in locating a parking space. A smart card is provided for recording the use of a parking facility by a user and can be utilized for controlling access to different areas within a parking facility. In another embodiment of the invention, a key fob transmits messages to the system for summoning assistance. The system can determine the location of a user by identifying a particular light fixture receiving a transmission from the user""s key fob. The system can be retrofit to existing equipment and components, including but not limited to light fixtures, or it can be incorporated in the original manufacture of such equipment and components. The system can communicate various information to parking facility users. For example, it can identify certain floors, levels or rows with available spaces within a parking structure. Moreover, various devices can be employed for communicating interactively with users. For example, display devices can be installed at certain locations, such as entrances to parking facilities. Alternatively, the display devices can be associated with the user, such as a personal data assistant (xe2x80x9cPDAxe2x80x9d), a display device in the dashboard of a vehicle, etc.
The principle objects and advantages of the present invention include: providing an interactive facility; providing a user assistance system therefore; providing a xe2x80x9csmartxe2x80x9d light fixture; providing an interactive parking facility; providing a detection system for a light fixture; providing such a detection system which includes a vehicle detector; providing such a detection system which includes a personnel detector; providing such a detection system which is adapted for mounting in different types of light fixtures; providing such a detection system which is adapted for mounting in light fixtures installed in parking structures; providing such a detection system which is adapted for use in light fixtures installed in high bay industrial applications; providing such a light fixture which includes a programmable logic controller; providing such a detection system which can enhance safety and security in facilities where it is installed; providing an interactive parking facility which utilizes the Global Positioning System (GPS) interactively with a user; providing an interactive parking facility which utilizes a smart card for interfacing with a user; providing an interactive parking facility which utilizes a key fob for interacting with a user; providing such a system which can be retrofit to existing components and equipment; providing such a system which can be incorporated in the original manufacture of equipment and components; providing such a system which is adapted for stand-alone applications; providing such a system which is adapted for applications where it is combined with other equipment and components, such as light fixtures; providing such a system which is adapted for communicating the availability of parking spaces in various rows, levels and floors within a facility; providing such a system which is adapted for installation in warehouses for collision avoidance and other navigational applications; and providing such a system, which is economical to manufacture, efficient in operation, capable of a long operating life and particularly well adapted for the proposed uses thereof.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.